The Domica cave is a

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

cave situated on the south-western border of the ''Silicka planina Plateau'' south-east of Plesivec in the

Rožňava District Rožňava District (''okres Rožňava'') is a Districts of Slovakia, district in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia. Until 1918, the district was mostly part of the Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary, county of Kingdom of Hun ...

of the

Košice Region The Košice Region (, ; ; ) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. The region was first established in 1923 and its present borders were established in 1996. It consists of 11 districts ( okresy) and 440 municipalities, 17 of which ...

in southern

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. In combination with the Baradla cave, it makes up the most significant section of the ''Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst'' cross-border cave network that continues into the Aggtelek National Park in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. The cave is well-known for its complex structure and high density of

speleothems A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation made by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depend ...

. These vast limestone passages, that had formed during the Middle

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

and are rich in

were discovered in 1926 by Ján Majko. A section of its total length of has been publicly accessible since 1932. As an element of the ''Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst'' the site was listed as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

list in 1995 because of the diversity of cave features found within it and its record of both tropical and temperate effects on karst cave formation.

Exploration

The site belongs to a complex variety of karstic formations that include 712 caves, many of which were well known among the local population for centuries. Bartholomeides, a priest from Ochtiná, documented his first systematic excursions into the ''Certova diera Cave'' in 1801. His conclusions that a number of the local caves are simply parts of a bigger entity were corroborated by the explorer I.Vass, who surveyed the Baradla cave in 1821. E.Nyari took up archaeological work in 1881 and suggested a connection of the ''Certova diera'' and ''Baradla Cave'' as did K. Siegmenth in 1891. Only the extensive work of Jan Majko in 1926 confirmed the interconnection of several local caves and lead to the discovery of the Domica cave on October 3, 1926. J. Majko penetrated from its bottom through a 15 m deep abyss into large underground spaces in 1926 where plenty of archaeological discoveries were made later.

Description

The Domica Cave is situated in the Slovak karst and consists of light limestone of the Middle

. The passages were shaped by the waters of an underground river, called ''Styx''.

Speleothem A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation made by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depen ...

decoration is omnipresent and very impressive, including cascades of stalactite lakes, variously shaped stalactites domed temples and notably

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

, that had diffused into sinter crusts accounts for unique forms and textures of surface decoration.

Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

processes have over tens of millions of years created diverse structures and habitats that date back to the Late Cretaceous. Subsequent periods of temperate, glacial, subtropical and tropical climatic conditions excellently demonstrate karst formation under varying conditions. Biologists, geologists and paleontologists are confronted with a rich set of various conditions, that affect sedimentation, evolution and fossilization in a geological time frame.

Gallery

File:Domica - areal.jpg, Entrance File:Domica Cave 05.jpg,

s File:Domica Cave 13.jpg,

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

cascades File:Domica Cave 50.jpg, Stalactites

Human occupation

Jaroslav Böhm directed excavations during the 1930s. Human presence has been documented dating back to the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

. The cave had presumably been a casual refuge for the oldest

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

inhabitants of Eastern Slovakia. However, the cave has been frequented by Neolithic humans of the Bükk culture, who might even have manufactured their distinct thin-walled pottery inside the cave. The original entrance of the Domica Cave was blocked by debris after Paleo-humans had abandoned it and the cave became inaccessible. Post holes from dwelling objects and fireplaces were discovered in several places of the cave. More than 200 reconstructed containers from sherds as well as a terrace-dug slope in a fine-grained loam on the Styx bank with imprints of stone axes are evidences of ceramics manufacture in the cave. Irons, awls, arrows, the oldest comb in Europe, ring, decorated cylinder bracelet and fishhook represent the peak of Neolithic processing of bones. Also pendants from shells and animal teeth were preserved.

References

External links

WHC Nomination Documentation

Domica Cave
at Slovak Caves Administration
Domica on the Slovak Caves Association page
{{Authority control 1801 archaeological discoveries Show caves in Slovakia World Heritage Sites in Slovakia Geography of Košice Region Tourist attractions in Košice Region Archaeological sites in Slovakia Ramsar sites in Slovakia Triassic Europe Paleolithic sites Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst